Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

North Dakota voters weigh in on governor, farming rules

North Dakota Republican governor candidate Doug Burgum fills out his primary election ballot at the Fargo Public Library, Tuesday, June 14, 2016. The longtime Fargo businessman and philanthropist says he feels good about his campaign because he traveled 16,000 miles across the state in a 1974 GMC bus. He's running in the primary against Wayne Stenehjem, the endorsed candidate of the state Republican Party, and Paul Sorum. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack)
North Dakota Republican governor candidate Doug Burgum fills out his primary election ballot at the Fargo Public Library, Tuesday, June 14, 2016. The longtime Fargo businessman and philanthropist says he feels good about his campaign because he traveled 16,000 miles across the state in a 1974 GMC bus. He's running in the primary against Wayne Stenehjem, the endorsed candidate of the state Republican Party, and Paul Sorum. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack) North Dakota Republican governor candidate Doug Burgum fills out his primary election ballot at the Fargo Public Library, Tuesday, June 14, 2016. The longtime Fargo businessman and philanthropist says he feels good about his campaign because he traveled 16,000 miles across the state in a 1974 GMC bus. He's running in the primary against Wayne Stenehjem, the endorsed candidate of the state Republican Party, and Paul Sorum. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack)

By Associated Press 3 min read

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s attorney general and a former Microsoft executive faced off Tuesday in a Republican primary likely to decide the state’s next governor, and voters also weighed whether to exempt pork and dairy operations from a Depression-era ban on corporate farming.

The GOP battle between two longtime friends, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Fargo businessman Doug Burgum, has featured a spirited debate on which candidate is better suited to revive a state economy that is slumping due to depressed oil and crop prices.

Rolla state Rep. Marvin Nelson was running unopposed in the Democratic primary, but he is considered a longshot in November to succeed outgoing GOP Gov. Jack Dalrymple. Not since 1992 has a Democrat held the state’s top office.

The North Dakota Farmers Union has led the campaign to reverse the Legislature’s decision last year to exempt pork and dairy operations from the state’s anti-corporate farming law. Campaign disclosure filings show the Farmers Union, which has more than 40,000 members, has spent more than $1 million to overturn the law.

Supporters of the so-called ham-and-cheese law say the exemption is needed to save the two dying industries by giving them more access to capital and opportunities to expand.